“Stop this nonsense” - John Mullane takes aim at Waterford championship structures

Waterford hurling legend John Mullane has called for an overhaul of the county’s club championship structures, describing the current system as “absolutely bonkers” and urging clubs to “stop this nonsense once and for all”.

Waterford are currently unique in Ireland in running their hurling and football championships separately rather than concurrently, with the hurling championship completed before the focus switches entirely to football.

It has meant no club hurling has been played in the county since the first weekend of September, while some clubs saw their seasons end considerably earlier.

Five-time All-Star Mullane believes the structure is doing little to help Waterford hurling and has questioned whether the lengthy gap between the end of the club championship and the resumption of inter-county training is contributing to player welfare and injury issues.

He cited former Hurler of the Year Austin Gleeson as an example of a player who, in previous seasons, could finish his club hurling campaign with Mount Sion in August before returning to the inter-county environment several months later.

“I don’t think the current Waterford structure for the last five or six years has helped Austin Gleeson along the way,” Mullane said on the Irish Independent GAA Podcast.

“What’s happened is he was putting his hurley away in August and then he wasn’t coming back until November. It’s too big of a gap, 10 or 11 weeks, to get back up to the speed of it again.

“That’s why he probably picked up so many injuries, because he probably had so much to do to get back up to 100 again.” Mullane says he has raised his concerns with county board officials but has been told that the current championship format is the structure voted for by Waterford clubs.

His message to those clubs is unequivocal.

“I’m now appealing to the clubs of Waterford: cut this nonsense out. Cut this nonsense out.

“We’re the only county in Ireland that’s going with this ridiculous structure of having hurling first, football second. Let’s get back in line with all the other counties and what all the other counties are doing.

“We’re the only Liam MacCarthy-playing county that’s putting our hurleys away in August. There’s one or two clubs putting their hurleys away in July. I mean, come on now, how’s that good for Waterford hurling?” Mullane stressed that football must be accommodated but argued that, as a predominantly hurling county, Waterford cannot afford to have the game effectively disappear from the club calendar during September and October.

“The likes of my own club, the place is soulless at the moment,” he said. “A club like De La Salle is soulless at the moment. The lights aren’t even on. It’s absolutely crazy.

“I’m appealing to clubs now, cut this nonsense out once and for all. Because, believe it or not, you’re a part of the problem now by voting these structures in.

“We’ll be back here next May, next June, or whenever Waterford have gone out of the championship, asking ourselves the question: why have Waterford gone out of the championship?

“These are structures that are not helping Waterford hurling.” The former Déise star also pointed to the compressed nature of the hurling championship as another player-welfare concern.

He recalled how three minors involved with his club’s senior side were required to play three championship games in the space of just six days.

“They played a county quarter-final on a Sunday. Forty-eight hours later, they had to play a minor semi-final on the Tuesday, and then three days later they had to play a senior semi-final against Ballygunner.

“In the space of six days, those three minors had to play three matches. So where’s the player welfare in all that? We’re saying that we have to be fair to the dual players, but are we being fair to the lads that don’t play football?” Mullane also believes the absence of meaningful club hurling during the autumn is damaging the promotion of the sport within Waterford.

He recently travelled to Wexford with a group of young hurlers before heading to Kilkenny to watch club championship action, contrasting the packed hurling calendars elsewhere with the lack of games in his own county.

“Lads in Waterford are going up on the train to Kilkenny to watch games of hurling, the hurling semi-finals, because there’s nothing to watch here in Waterford. It’s absolutely bonkers.” For Mullane, the solution extends beyond simply changing the senior championship calendar. He believes Waterford needs a more comprehensive programme of games at all levels and pointed towards the work undertaken in Offaly as a potential model.

“We need hurling, as much hurling as we can, in the months of September and October. We’re not putting our hurleys away in August - and some clubs put their hurleys away in July.

“How are we going to grow the game? How are we going to keep pushing on to the levels that we want to get to?

“We don’t have a decent programme of games. I’d say to someone, maybe at board level, pick up the phone to Michael Duignan. Have a good conversation with Michael Duignan and the changes that he brought to Offaly, particularly with that programme of games.

“Games, games, games, games, games. Kids want games.

“We need structural change for our championships going forward and we need a better programme of games. I’d recommend people pick up the phone to Michael Duignan and have a conversation.

“That would be a good starting point.”